In His Hands

​Our family is no stranger to the nomenclature of special needs. The words “spectrum,” “petit mal,” “ADHD versus ADD,” “insulin pump,” “A1C,” and “ketones” are familiar to us. We know what they mean and we can deal with them.

But right after Thanksgiving in a random, violent incident, my husband was paralyzed from the waist down. Suddenly we were thrust into a totally different world. Words like “incomplete versus complete,” “nerve pain,” and “bowel program” made us feel inept and nervous. While we had dealt with autism and juvenile diabetes we had never dealt with paralysis. What would this injury mean long-term? How would this affect our daily lives? Where was God in all this?

​He was busy holding us.

From the moment of the incident to pacing the floor outside the trauma ICU, from holding the steering wheel and focusing on driving to the hospital to holding my husband’s hand, God’s presence was felt. Not felt as in ooey-gooey, lovey-dovey feelings but hair-standing, calming, peace-giving, I AM HERE, Presence. Capital P, take-your-shoes-off-you’re-standing-on-holy-ground Presence.
His Presence has not left, even though it’s been two months after that terrible, incredible night.

Being in the Hand of God is an experience that is totally dependent on one’s relationship with God. Having a relationship with Him by accepting the gift of grace and salvation given by Jesus Christ, means that God has your back. Isaiah 41:10 states, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Yet, hurt one of God’s loved ones, and that same hand that cradles the hurt and feeds the hungry will strike with a vengeance toward those that have hurt His children. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” states Hebrews 10:31.  That makes me shudder all the more and be afraid for people who persecute Christians.

His hands were busy meeting needs we didn’t know we had. Our home now features a wheelchair ramp, a fully-accessible deck in the back and other handicapped-accessible features inside, all designed to make my wheelchair-bound husband’s life easier. It is all because of God. He brought people together to do these things for total strangers, all because the Lord God told them to do so. He provided the funds to do these things. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills [Psalm 50:10]; there is nothing He cannot accomplish. He renewed friendships through this experience that were non-existent for almost two decades and brought people together who want to work together in the future. He has renewed people’s commitments to Him because of the incident.

God is making this passage very real to us: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives,” Genesis 50:20.

Several months ago, during my prayer time, the Holy Spirit fell on me. While in prayer, the Lord revealed that He was about to bless us. He has, through this experience, blessed us. It has not been in the decks, or the ramps, the hardwood laminate, the shower room, or even in the incredible new kitchen. The blessing has been having a place in His Hands.

The first morning after the incident, our church was having a pre-scheduled Sunday Concert of Prayer that started at 8:30. At 8:29, the trauma ICU room was cold and sterile; one minute later, just as the Concert of Prayer started, the room warmed though the thermostat was not touched: we could feel ourselves being lifted in prayer by our brothers and sisters. It was as if Jesus Himself opened the ICU trauma room and walked in, pulled up the wheelie chair and sat down beside the hospital bed. It was like Jesus was there and whispering, “I am here. I made your body and I have this. I will use it for my glory. Your pain will not be in vain.” We were solidly in His hands at that moment and we knew it. We know it.

My question to you is this: do you have the kind of relationship with God in which you feel peace during a time of tragedy, or do you feel unstable, irrational fear that evil feeds on? I tell you this: one of those is from God, the other is from satan. Examine your relationship with God. If you find that you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior, this is a great time to fix that.

Praying the following prayer is simple. Turning from the sinful life is not so simple, especially if you continue to hang out with the same people you were with before. Turning to Christ and accepting His gift of grace means turning away from the sinful life you were living before. This is hard for some people, but the benefits are eternal.

In an attitude of prayer (which means, believe this and mean it), pray: “Dear Jesus, I acknowledge my sins before You. I am a sinner. Yet I also acknowledge that You came to die to take all my sins upon You to take them away from me. I accept your gift of salvation, and I accept that You rose from the grave that I may live and live abundantly in You. Please come into my life, now, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.”

Blessed one, the only way to be in the hands of God and have peace is through a relationship in Jesus Christ. He said it best: “…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” John 14:6.
You cannot have peace through a life of sin, or through prophets like the Mormons or people of the Baha’i faith believe, or even by praying to other saints like Catholics do. You cannot do good works and think you’ll make the mark that way. It is only through a relationship in Jesus Christ, God’s Only Son, who died and rose, and ascended to heaven, and will come again. A relationship with Jesus is the only way to be in God’s peaceful hands.

Love in Christ,
Terrie
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© 2016 Terrie McKee
 

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